Assembly designed to be fixed on the neck of a fluid product container and dispensing device comprising same

ABSTRACT

A unit for fastening on a neck of a receptacle containing a fluid, said unit comprising: a fastener ring ( 1 ) that is suitable for fastening a dispenser member ( 3 ), such as a pump or a valve, on the neck of the receptacle; and a gasket ( 2 ) for interposing between the fastener ring ( 1 ) and said neck of the receptacle; said gasket ( 2 ) being pre-mounted in clamping engagement in the fastener ring ( 1 ), in such a manner as to hold said gasket ( 2 ) in its stressed state in said ring ( 1 ), both before and after fastening said unit on said neck of the receptacle.

The present invention relates to a unit for fastening on a neck of areceptacle that is suitable for containing a fluid, and to a fluiddispenser device including such a unit.

Cosmetics, perfumery, and pharmacy are advantageous, but not exclusive,fields of application of the present invention.

In the prior art, when fastening a pump or a valve on a receptacle neck,it is known to seal said receptacle neck by means of a gasket. Such agasket is generally made of an elastomeric or plastics material that issuitable for deforming on being stressed between a top edge of the neckand a fastener element of the pump or valve. Usually, the assemblysequence for assembling such a unit initially comprises a step offastening the body of the pump or valve in the fastener element,followed by a step of positioning the gasket on the body of said pump orvalve, followed by a step of assembling the fastener element on thereceptacle neck, trapping said gasket and causing said gasket, thefastener element, and the neck of the receptacle to co-operate inleaktight manner. The fastener element can be fastened on the neck usingany appropriate means, such as screw-fastening, snap-fastening,crimping, etc. That sequence thus results in the gasket being compressedbetween the top edge of the neck and the ring. Such compression thusseals the device, preventing any fluid from passing between the top edgeof the neck and the fastener ring.

However, some drawbacks are associated with implementing such anassembly sequence. Thus, while the gasket is being positioned around thepump body or valve, said gasket exerts radial stresses on said body thatcould possibly lead to said body becoming deformed. This can haveconsequences on the functioning and sealing of the pump or of the valve.In addition, when the manufacturer of the dispenser is not themanufacturer of the fluid to be dispensed, the dispenser is generallydelivered unassembled, and the manufacturer of the fluid must assemblethe device after it has been filled. Apart from fastening the pump orvalve in the ring, the manufacturer must thus perform all of the othersteps of the above-mentioned assembly sequence. Increasing the number ofdifferent steps increases the risk of malfunctioning.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,998,168, 3,185,356, and 3,191,815 disclose devices ofthe prior art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a unit that does nothave the above-mentioned drawbacks.

In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a unitincluding a gasket, and guaranteeing proper positioning of the gasketrelative to the neck and the ring.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a unit including aneck gasket that adapts easily to standard fastener rings.

Another object of the present invention is also to make the mounting ofthe gasket located between the fastener ring and the neck of areceptacle, and the overall assembly of the dispenser device, moresimple, more reliable, and less costly.

The present invention thus provides a unit for fastening on a neck of areceptacle containing a fluid, said unit comprising: a fastener ringthat is suitable for fastening a dispenser member, such as a pump or avalve, on the neck of the receptacle; and a gasket for interposingbetween the fastener ring and said neck of the receptacle; said gasketbeing pre-mounted in clamping engagement in the fastener ring, in such amanner as to hold said gasket in its stressed state in said ring, bothbefore and after fastening said unit on said neck of the receptacle.

Advantageously, said gasket includes an inside edge that defines amounting opening, and an outside edge, with the fastening of the gasketin the ring being the result, preferably exclusively, of co-operationbetween said outside edge of the gasket and said ring.

Advantageously, said gasket is in clamping engagement with an axial sidewall of said ring.

Advantageously, the ring and/or the gasket include(s) at least onefastener profile that is suitable for holding said gasket in clampingengagement in said ring.

Advantageously, said ring and/or said gasket include(s) a plurality offastener profiles that are distributed circumferentially around saidside wall of said ring and/or around said outside edge of said gasket,said profiles being spaced apart from one another in such a manner as toform a plurality of anchor points.

In an advantageous first embodiment, said at least one fastener profileis formed on said ring, said profile projecting substantially radiallyinwards from said side wall of the ring, so as to come to bite into saidoutside edge of said gasket.

In an advantageous second embodiment, said at least one fastener profileis formed on said gasket, said profile projecting radially outwards fromsaid outside edge of the gasket, so as to come to bear in clampingengagement against said side wall of the ring.

Advantageously, the gasket is held in axial abutment against a radialflange of the ring in the pre-mounted position of the gasket in thering.

Advantageously, the inside edge of the gasket is not in contact with thedispenser member, such that said gasket does not exert any radial forceon said dispenser member.

Advantageously, said fastener ring includes a mounting portion that issuitable for fastening to the dispenser member, said mounting portionbeing connected to a radial flange that is connected to an axial sidewall, said axial side wall supporting fastener means for fastening to areceptacle neck, said gasket, in its pre-mounted state, being in contactwith said radial flange, and in clamping engagement with said axial sidewall.

The present invention also provides a fluid dispenser device comprising:a fluid reservoir; a dispenser member, such as a pump or a valve, thatis suitable for dispensing fluid contained in said reservoir; and a unitas described above.

Advantageously, said gasket does not exert any radial force or stress onsaid dispenser member, either before or after assembling said unit onsaid receptacle.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appearmore clearly from the following detailed description of severalembodiments thereof, given merely by way of non-limiting example, andwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical-section view of a unit of the presentinvention, in which there is mounted a dispenser member;

FIG. 2 is a larger-scale view of a portion of the unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic horizontal-section view of a first variantembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic horizontal-section view of another variantembodiment of the present invention.

The unit of the present invention is for fastening on a fluidreceptacle, and more particularly on a receptacle neck (not shown) thatcan be of any kind. The fluid contained in the receptacle can be aliquid, a lotion, a cream, a perfume, a viscous substance, a pastysubstance, a pharmaceutical, or even medication that is embedded,dispersed, or dissolved in a propellant gas.

The unit of the invention advantageously comprises two componentelements, namely a fastener ring 1, and a gasket 2, generally referredto as a neck gasket. The fastener ring 1 can be any element that issuitable for fastening on a receptacle neck.

The fastener ring 1 shown in FIG. 1 is advantageously of standard type.The ring preferably comprises a mounting portion 10, a radial flange 11,and an axial side wall 12. In considering the orientation in FIG. 1, themounting portion 10 extends upwards from the radial flange 11, whereasthe side wall 12 extends axially downwards from the radial flange 11.Naturally, the structure of the fastener ring is purely illustrative,the present invention being applicable to any type of ring.

The mounting wall 10 has the function of holding a dispenser member 3,e.g. a pump, in secure manner. In this embodiment, this function isfulfilled by crimping or by snap-fastening the fastener ring on thedispenser member 3. The pump shown in FIG. 1 can be of any type, and istherefore not described is greater detail below.

It should be noted that the dispenser member is not necessarily a pump.In particular, a valve that is suitable for releasing an aerosol fluidcontained in the receptacle could also be used.

The side wall 12 has, in particular, the function of fastening thefastener ring 1 to the neck of the receptacle once the neck gasket 2 hasbeen positioned correctly. Its positioning is explained in greaterdetail below. The ring can be fastened to the neck by screw-fastening,by snap-fastening, or even by crimping the ring on the neck of thereceptacle. The ring shown in FIG. 1 is a crimping ring.

The neck gasket 2 generally presents an annular configuration. Such agasket includes a top surface 20 and a bottom surface 21, both of whichcan be substantially plane. The gasket 2 further includes an inside edge22 and an outside edge 23. The inside edge 22 defines a mounting openingthat is generally circular, and through which the dispenser member 3 canextend.

In the invention, in order to make it easier to mount the fastener andsealing unit on the neck of the receptacle, and in order to obtainproper sealing of the neck, the neck gasket 2 is pre-mounted in clampingengagement in the fastener ring. It is thus held in its stressed statein the ring, both before and after fastening the unit on the neck of thereceptacle. In an advantageous characteristic, the fastening of thegasket 2 in the ring 1 is the result of the outside edge 23 of thegasket 2 co-operating, preferably exclusively, with the ring 1, and inparticular with the side wall 12 of the ring.

According to another particularly advantageous characteristic, theinside edge 22 of the gasket 2 is not in contact with the dispensermember 3. Thus, in contrast to devices in which the gasket ispre-mounted in clamping manner on the body of the dispenser member, thegasket 2 does not exert any radial compression force on the body 30 ofthe dispenser member 3, and in particular on its cylindrical portionhaving an inside surface against which the piston slides. The presentinvention thus eliminates any risk of said body 30 deforming. Thus, asshown in FIG. 2, a gap can exist between the body 30 of the dispensermember 3 and the inside edge 22 of the gasket, while the gasket 2 isfastened in perfect manner in the ring 1. Such an embodiment also makesit easy to compensate for dispersion in manufacturing tolerances of thegasket, and makes it possible to simplify assembling the gasket in thering. In a variant, the gasket could be in contact with the body 30, oncondition that no radial force or stress is exerted thereon. Inaddition, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the gasket 2 is in itspre-mounted position in the ring 1, the top surface 20 of the gasketadvantageously comes into abutment against the radial flange 11 of thering. This simplifies assembling the gasket 2 in the ring 1.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the ring and/or the gasketinclude(s) one or more fastener profiles providing good anchoring of thegasket in the ring. Examples of fastener profile are shown in FIGS. 3and 4. As shown in these figures, such fastener profiles areadvantageously distributed circumferentially around the side wall of thering (FIG. 3) and/or around the outside edge of the gasket (FIG. 4). Thepresence of one or more fastener profiles makes pre-mounting easier whenthe gasket is fastened to the ring exclusively via its outside edge. Theprofile(s) limit(s) friction during pre-mounting in comparison with twosubstantially smooth surfaces. In addition, the dimensional accuracy canbe less without any risk of jamming during pre-mounting, since theprofile offers greater capacity for deformation. The dimensionalaccuracy of the gasket and the ring therefore do not need to be veryhigh. The invention thus improves compensation for dispersion inmanufacturing tolerances.

FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment in which the fastener ring 1 includesfastener profiles 120. The profiles are spaced apart angularly on theinside face of the side wall 12 of the fastener ring 1. In thisembodiment, the profiles are in the form of internal bulges that areeight in number in this embodiment, and are formed in equidistant manneron the side wall 12 of the ring, being separated from one another inpairs by angles of 45°. Such a structure thus gives rise to profilesthat project substantially radially inwards from the inside face of theoutside wall 12 of the ring, and that are suitable for coming to biteinto the outside edge 23 of the gasket so as to hold it in secureengagement. The diameter at the radial ends of said bulges is thus lessthan or equal to the diameter of the outside edge 23 of the gasket 2, soas provide clamping fastening of said gasket.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment in which it is the neck gasket 2 thatincludes fastener profiles 230. The profiles comprise a plurality ofexternal projections, in this event three, that are distributeduniformly around the outside edge 23 of the gasket. The projections,spaced apart from one another by an angle of 120°, thus project radiallyoutwards from the outside edge 23 of the gasket 2 in such a manner as toprovide clamping against the side wall of the fastener ring. Thediameter at the radial ends of said projections is thus greater than orequal to the inside diameter of the side wall 12 of the ring 1, so asprovide clamping fastening of the gasket. This embodiment presents theadvantage of being able to use a standard fastener ring, such as astandard crimping cap, that does not need to be modified in order to beable to pre-mount said gasket. This reduces the costs of manufacture andof assembly.

It should be noted that the number and the distribution of bulges andprojections are purely illustrative. In addition, it should be notedthat the side wall of the ring, which in the above embodiments isdefined as also forming fastener means (crimping, screw-fastening,snap-fastening, or other) for fastening the ring on the neck, could alsobe an intermediate side wall that does not have such fastener means, andthat is, for example, situated between the mounting portion and aspecific fastener portion that is dedicated to fastening the ring on theneck. The intermediate side wall could thus serve to hold the neckgasket in secure engagement in the ring. It could also be envisaged toprovide fastener profiles both on the gasket 2 and on the ring 1.

Although the present invention is described above with reference toseveral particular embodiments thereof, naturally it is not limited tothe embodiments described and shown, and any useful modification couldbe applied thereto by a person skilled in the art, without going beyondthe ambit of the present invention, as defined in the accompanyingclaims.

1. A unit for fastening on a neck of a receptacle containing a fluid,said unit comprising: a fastener ring (1) that is suitable for fasteninga dispenser member (3), such as a pump or a valve, on the neck of thereceptacle; and a gasket (2) for interposing between the fastener ring(1) and said neck of the receptacle; said unit being characterized inthat said gasket (2) is pre-mounted in clamping engagement in thefastener ring (1), in such a manner as to hold said gasket (2) in itsstressed state in said ring (1), both before and after fastening saidunit on said neck of the receptacle.
 2. A unit according to claim 1, inwhich said gasket (2) includes an inside edge (22) that defines amounting opening, and an outside edge (23), with the fastening of thegasket (2) in the ring (1) being the result, preferably exclusively, ofco-operation between said outside edge (23) of the gasket (2) and saidring (1).
 3. A unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which saidgasket (2) is in clamping engagement with an axial side wall (12) ofsaid ring (1).
 4. A unit according to claim 1, 2, or 3, in which thering (1) and/or the gasket (2) include(s) at least one fastener profile(120, 230) that is suitable for holding said gasket (2) in clampingengagement in said ring (1).
 5. A unit according to claim 4, in whichsaid ring (1) and/or said gasket (2) include(s) a plurality of fastenerprofiles (120, 230) that are distributed circumferentially around saidside wall (12) of said ring (1) and/or around said outside edge (23) ofsaid gasket (2), said profiles (120, 230) being spaced apart from oneanother in such a manner as to form a plurality of anchor points.
 6. Aunit according to claim 4 or claim 5, in which said at least onefastener profile (120) is formed on said ring (1), said profile (120)projecting substantially radially inwards from said side wall (12) ofthe ring (1), so as to come to bite into said outside edge (23) of saidgasket (2).
 7. A unit according to claim 4, 5, or 6, in which said atleast one fastener profile (230) is formed on said gasket (2), saidprofile (230) projecting radially outwards from said outside edge (23)of the gasket (2), so as to come to bear in clamping engagement againstsaid side wall (12) of the ring (1).
 8. A unit according to any one ofclaims 3 to 7, in which the gasket (2) is held in axial abutment againsta radial flange (11) of the ring (1) in the pre-mounted position of thegasket (2) in the ring (1).
 9. A unit according to any one of claims 2to 8, in which the inside edge (22) of the gasket (2) is not in contactwith the dispenser member (3), such that said gasket (2) does not exertany radial force on said dispenser member (3).
 10. A unit according toany preceding claim, in which said fastener ring (1) includes a mountingportion (10) that is suitable for fastening to the dispenser member,said mounting portion (10) being connected to a radial flange (11) thatis connected to an axial side wall (12), said axial side wall supportingfastener means for fastening to a receptacle neck, said gasket, in itspre-mounted state, being in contact with said radial flange (11), and inclamping engagement with said axial side wall (12).
 11. A fluiddispenser device comprising a fluid receptacle, and a dispenser member(3), such as a pump or a valve, that is suitable for dispensing fluidcontained in said receptacle, the device being characterized in that itfurther comprises a unit according to any preceding claim.
 12. A deviceaccording to claim 11, in which said gasket (2) does not exert anyradial force or stress on said dispenser member (3), either before orafter assembling said unit on said receptacle.